Rescuers were rifling through the remains of collapsed building in southern Japan on Friday, after a powerful earthquake left at least nine people dead and injured hundreds, sparking fires and buckling roads.
Tens of thousands of people fled their homes after the 6.5-magnitude quake struck the southwestern island of Kyushu on Thursday night, leaving lumps of broken concrete strewn in the streets.
Houses collapsed, factories stopped work and a high-speed train was de-railed, while the roof of the treasured Kumamoto castle in the southern city of the same name was also damaged.
“There was a ka-boom and the whole house shook violently sideways,” Takahiko Morita, a resident of nearby town Mashiki, said in a telephone interview with public broadcaster NHK.
“Furniture and bookshelves fell down, and books were all over the floor.”
Dozens of aftershocks followed the quake, which hit about 9:26 pm on Thursday evening, and officials warned the death toll could rise as rescuers scoured the collapsed structures.
As rescue workers toiled through the night, an eight-month-old baby girl was pulled from the rubble alive and unharmed, NHK reported.
“As far as we can tell from infrared images from a police helicopter, there appears to be a significant number of houses destroyed or half-collapsed,” said disaster minister Taro Kono.
“There are fears the number of injured could rise.”
According to Philippine Ambassador to Japan Manuel Lopez on Friday afternoon, there are no reports of injured Filipinos so far. Speaking to ABS-CBN News Channel, he said that “one Filipino was trapped under an automobile, but he’s safe.”
Messaging app Viber has switched off Viber Out billing, meaning calls to and within Japan (including landlines) are now free.
With a report from AFP.
